Agency History

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Research Notes & Special Studies by the Historian's Office

Research Note #16:
Summary of Major Benefits Under The Social Security Program

This Research Note summarizes the major
categories of benefits and the year they were added to (or deleted
from) the Social Security Act, as well as significant expansions
or cut-backs to those benefits. This Research Note is intended to
provide a quick "snap-shot" of the development of the
Social Security program, as viewed in terms of the types of benefits
provided by the program.

The aim of this table is to give the viewer a quick way to see something
of the chronological sequence of the development of the major benefit
categories in the Social Security program. It also provides a quick
way to separate those benefits/provisions which expanded the program
from those that reduced it.

These broad benefit types are only one measure of the development
of the Social Security program. Equally important are the coverage
provisions, which determine which workers participate in the system,
the benefit formulas, which often were adjusted with various offsets
and reductions, and the financing provisions which determine tax
rates, the taxable wage base, and related factors. Moreover, there
are insured status requirements for each of these benefits, so the
mere availability of a benefit-type at a given point in the historical
sequence does not always mean that all persons fitting this general
category would be eligible for Social Security benefits. But the
list does indicate when in the historical sequence a particular
type of benefit was first enacted.

Summary of Table Highlights-

A quick review of the table suggestions several generalizations
about the historical development of the Social Security program.

First, we can observe that following the passage of the 1935 Act,
several new types of benefits were added to the program over the
decades. Only two benefit types have been repealed outright: the
lump-sum refund benefit from the original Act and student benefits
as originally provided in 1965.

The main period of the addition of new benefits peaked around 1968;
most subsequent program expansions involved making existing benefits
more "generous" by modifying the conditions of eligibility.

Although there have been only two benefit types eliminated, there
have been a number of modifications in the conditions of eligibility
for various benefits. Some of these modifications have in fact made
the program less generous. Particularly impacted by these types
of modifications have been disabled individuals (through offsets
due to possible receipt of Workers Compensation payments) and persons
having a pension from non-covered employment (these are almost exclusively
former government workers).

We can also observe, as a broad generalization, that the 1972 Amendments
to the Social Security Act marked a kind of informal watershed in
the program's development. Most changes up to and including the
1972 law were expansions of the program, most changes since have
been contractions.

It is also interesting to notice that there have been numerous gender
differences in benefit types over the years--always to the advantage
of female beneficiaries. Women were first able to opt for early
retirement in 1956, men in 1961; wives could collect spouses benefits
starting in 1939, husbands only starting in 1950; the provisions
involving the widowed and divorced have at various times been more
generous toward women than men. It was only with the passage of
the 1983 Amendments that these gender differences were reconciled
and the program put on a "gender neutral" basis.

Again, it is important to appreciate that other factors must be
considered for a complete picture of the macro trends in the development
of the Social Security system. Tax rates at various points in time,
as well as benefit formulas, the presence or absence of COLAs, and
other factors, all would have to be considered to provide a fully-formed
picture of the program's history.

Benefit Expansions

Year

Type
of Benefit

Modification
of Benefit

Note: Years shown refer to year that change was enacted
into law--effective dates may differ.

1935

Individual retirement benefits at age 65
Lump-sum refund provision for retirement before 1942
Lump-sum death benefit

1939

Wives age 65 or older
Children under age 18, if student from 16-17
Widows age 65 and older
Widowed mother at any age if caring for eligible child
Surviving Children under age 18
Dependent parents age 65 or older, if no surviving widow or child
under age 18

Wives of any age if caring for eligible child
Dependent husbands age 65 or older
Divorced and dependent widows with eligible child
Widower aged 65 and over if dependent

Ad hoc "COLAs" first paid (general
benefit increase)

1956

Disability benefits to workers age 50-64, offset by
Worker's Comp. payments
Early retirement for women at age 62
Wife's benefits at age 62
Disabled Adult Children if disabled before age 18
Female dependent parent ages 62-64

Medicare for age 65 or older
Divorced wife age 62 or older if married at least 20 years and dependent
on husband
Children age 18-21 if full-time student
Surviving divorced wife if married at least 20 years and dependent
on husband
Special age 72 transitional benefits under certain conditions

Husbands under age 65 caring for eligible child*
Widowed father caring for eligible child under age 18*
Widowed divorced husband, married 10 years*
Divorced husband age 62 or older if married at least 20 years*
Widowed father if caring for eligible child under 18

Divorced husband married at least 20 years
Reduction for Government Pension Offset reduced somewhat for wives/husbands/divorced
wives/divorced husbands
Reduction in widows benefits eliminated for period prior to age
60
Dependency requirement dropped for widowers*

* Benefits under these categories were paid earlier
under court decisions, but were added to the Social Security Act
in this year.

Benefit
Reductions

Year

Type
of Benefit

Modification
of Benefit

1939

Lump-sum refund provision eliminated

1965

Students excluded from qualifying
wife as caring for eligible child
Students excluded from qualifying widowed mother as caring for eligible
child
Modified Worker's Comp. offset for disability benefits reinstated

Scaled-back benefit formula
(the "Notch" was a by-product)
The Government Pension Offset reduced Social Security benefits for
spouses/divorced spouses/ widows/widowers who receive a pension
from non-covered employment

1981

Student benefits phased-out,
except for high school students under age 19

Six-month delay in COLA
Normal Retirement Age gradually to rise from 65 to 67
The Windfall Offset Provision reduces the retirement or disability
benefits paid to individuals who also receive a pension from non-covered
employment

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